In September, for the second year in a row, we instituted a temporary blackout of social media sites and instant
messaging anywhere on the network at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Last year's social media blackout
lasted five days, and this year we went to seven days. Students could still access these sites through mobile networks
or go down the street to a place with public Wi-Fi, but we encouraged them not to.

We didn't do it out of concern that social media is distracting or that students are wasting too much time;
if we'd been worried about time-wasting, we'd have blocked YouTube and the latest AddictiveGames.com. We
don't look at any technology as inherently good or bad, and my general belief is that social media adds to
the productivity of the university.

Rather, we did it for educational purposes -- to get people to think about how best to use social media.

Is Social Media Addictive?

In September, we also had a social media summit, and one panel looked at the possibility of social media addiction.
An addiction expert had the audience go through the five standard questions for determining addiction with technology,
with a specific focus on social media:

- Have you tried to cut down on use of technology?

- Do you get angry if someone asks you if you are using technology too much?

- Do you ever feel guilty about how much time you spend plugged in?

- Do you use technology as an eye-opener upon waking up?

- Do you try to set boundaries around your technology use?

- A "Yes" answer to any two may indicate a problem with addiction.

After the most recent social media blackout and the summit, two students came to us and self-reported that they believed they had an addiction to social media. They said they check Facebook as many as 300 times a day.

Since it takes six weeks to make a meaningful behavior change, these two students decided to stop using social media completely for the remainder of the semester -- and to figure out what to do long-term after this period. They both seem happier now that they've disconnected.

Are Your Employees Addicted to Social Media?

If you believe your employees are spending too much time on social media or other technological distractions, don't try to solve the problem by heavy-handed means. Don't use technology to try to block social media sites. If you think about it from an employee's point of view, what message does that send? "My employer doesn't trust me. My employer is treating me like a child."

Instead, get the employees together and make it their problem. Say, "This is our business. When I walk through the cubicles, I see that 15 people at this 20-person company are surfing Facebook. What do you think about that?" Maybe they'll come up with their own self-limits, such as only using Facebook at break times. Let them set up and impose their own guidelines. Treat them like adults.

That's one of the great benefits of a small business: There can be a sense of ownership, a sense that we're all in this together. It's something a small-business owner can leverage that a large company can't. So rather than trying to solve the social media problem all on your own, get your employees involved.